Fingers Intertwined
by sweet-virginia-sparks
Summary: Kissing. Talking. Crying. Touching. Fighting. Loving. [Troyella OneShots]
1. A Ring & A Worry

**A/N: Welcome to my Troyella One-Shots**

**I created this story because I have a lot of Troyella ideas, but I don't want to develop each one into a separate story. Hope you like :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical, it all belongs to the geniuses at Disney.**

As the soft sun streamed through her window sixteen year old Gabriella turned over in bed, her eyes fluttering open to the sound of her alarm. Reaching over to turn off the radio her eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny on her hand, a gorgeous diamond ring. Troy had given it her to completely out of the blue the week before when the pair had been sitting in the hammock in Gabriella's back yard. She had been totally surprised, it wasn't her birthday, a holiday or any anniversary. Troy had told her it was a "just because I love you" ring and slipped it onto her finger, she had yet to take it off.

Smiling as her mind drifted back to that day, the brunette stumbled out of bed to get ready. Pulling various items of clothing from her drawers she pulled off her camisole and shorts and slid into her favorite jeans and a baby blue top. Taking a few minutes to do her make-up and brush her long curly hair she bounded down the stairs, grabbed a waffle, said good-bye to her mother, who, in true motherly fashion wished her a good day, then headed for the bus stop.

Twenty minutes later she was walking into East High, groups of teenagers walking and chatting around her. Fingering the ring on her hand she arrived at her locker with a smile. She twirled around the lock finding the numbers to her combination and pulled open the metal locker door. Next to her stood Carissa Aven, a pretty red head with a locker next to Gabriella's. Carissa eyed Gabriella's hand, "Wow Gabi! That ring is gorgeous!"

Gabriella grinned "It's from Troy"

"Anniversary?" Carissa asked pulling a book from her locker.

"No, no special occasion at all"

Carissa seemed amused at this, there was a glint in her eye as she closed her locker and winked, "So I guess now you get to thank him"

Gabriella stood there shocked, as Carissa walked off.

_Did she just say what I thought she said? Is-_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Taylor came walking over.

"Hey Gabs. You okay?" she asked when she saw the look on her friend's face

Turning to her best friend Gabriella asked, "Taylor, do you think Troy got me this ring expecting me to, you know, _pay him back?_"

"What do you mean?"

Gabriella's voice became a whisper, "Well, Carissa made it seem like Troy gave me the ring in exchange for…sex." She spit out the last word, almost not believing it herself.

Taylor's eyes widened, "She said that to you?!"

"No, but she made it obvious what she was implying". In a worried voice she added, "Do you think she's right? Is that what this ring means?"

Taylor smiled at her friend. "Of course not Gabi, you and I both know Troy isn't like that"

"I guess so", but Gabriella wasn't convinced, Carissa seemed to know what she was talking about. But before she could get out another word she felt a pair of familiar hands around her waist.

"Hi Troy" she turned around to see the blue-eyed boy smiling at her. He leaned close and she could feel his hot breath on her cheek.

"Hi gorgeous" he whispered huskily in her ear. He traced a finger down her arm and she felt herself melt at his touch. Closing her big brown eyes she reached up to place her lips on his. His lips were soft and his kiss was strong, she smiled into the kiss then pulled back grinning.

With his hands on her stomach he turned her around, so she her back leaned against his toned chest. She rested her head in his shoulder as he greeted the brown-skinned girl standing beside them.

"You know this may come as a shock to you two, but not everyone enjoys seeing your rendition of the McGosling kiss in the school hallways"

"Oh please Taylor" Gabriella laughed "we both know that if Chad wasn't stuck with Darbus in early morning detention you two would be doing the same thing"

Taylor pretended to be offended and the two girls laughed. They three continued to talk, and over the next ten minutes were joined by Kelsi (who needed inspiration for a new song), Zeke (who got hit over the head when he suggested Kelsi write a song about double chocolate chunk cookies) and Sharpay (who pulled Taylor into a giggling conversation about her latest favorite Hollywood hottie, Bryan Greenberg).

Then somewhere during the topic of who could win a fight, Chad's hair or Darbus's sharp fingernails, Gabriella became very conscious of Troy's strong hands and where they were on her body. They had made their way to her waist and she could feel his thumbs stroking the skin under the waist of her jeans. On any other day she would have loved his warm hands sending tingles up her spine, but today, it just made her wonder if Carissa Aven, the experienced girl that she was, could be right.

The lunch bell rang at 12:55 and swinging her bag over her shoulder Gabriella headed to her locker. She was only a few yards away when she felt an arm pull her into an empty math classroom.

"Troy, what are you-" the shaggy brown hair boy cut her off with his lips and suddenly all she was thinking about was how his hand felt pulling her closer. When he finally pulled away she gave him a quizzical look, "What are we doing in here?"

"I wanted to see you"

"We were about to see each other in the cafeteria, you know, the place where we go everyday so you can steal my salt and vinegar potato chips?"

"I know Montez, but I wanted to see you alone, before you go off into some conversation about molecules or something with Taylor"

Gabriella laughed and her brown eyes twinkled, "A conversation about molecules?"

"Well I don't know what you two talk about, but I do know I wanted to kiss you without hearing about seven different people telling us to get a room"

His blue eyes were smiling as he leaned down again and kissed the petite Latina. It was times like this that showed her why she loved Troy so much, he had the ability to make her feel like no one else in the world could with just one kiss. She began to deepen the kiss but quickly pulled back when her conversation with Carissa came to mind. _Is that what this is about? Is he trying to do all this to get me to sleep with him?_

"What's wrong Gabi?" Troy looked puzzle at the sudden kiss-stopping from his girlfriend.

"Um nothing, I'm just really hungry. I want to get to lunch" she gave him a smile and proceeded to the door.

"Okay then" he mumbled following after her, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Gabriella kept a small distance from Troy throughout lunch and the rest of the afternoon, she wasn't exactly avoiding him, but she kept all their kisses short and the touching to a minimum.

Troy had become worried and racked his brain trying to figure out what he had done to upset her. So after Algebra class, an English test, sixty slow minutes of Spanish and two hours of basketball practice Troy showered and headed over to a familiar house, the Montez house.

He knocked on the door, even though Miss Montez always told him not to bother, and stood back waiting for Gabriella to answer. She opened the door and the first thing Troy noticed was that something was bothering her. While most people would not be able to tell she was upset Troy was very aware, he knew how to read to her face and her expressions. He could find the hidden meaning behind her words and had not once fallen for her "I'm fine", despite that she was a very good actress.

"You want to talk to me Gabi?"

She sighed, how did he always know when something was wrong?

When her only response was looking at the ground he spoke again, "Gabriella, if something is wrong, and I know something is, then I want to you to talk to me"

"I do want to talk to you Troy"

"Well then let's talk"

"But it's kind of embarrassing" she felt her cheeks turn lightly pink.

"Brie" her head snapped up at the sound of that nick name, no one called her that but Troy and it made her heart beat a little faster every time his smooth voice said it, "you don't have to be embarrassed about anything, not with me"

His voice was calming and sincere, and the look on his face told her that he was desperate to talk to her; he hated feeling like she wasn't comfortable with him.

"Come on in Troy".

He breathed a relieved sigh and stepped into the living room. He followed Gabriella to the couch, sat down and went to pull her into his lap, but instead, felt her pull away and sit beside him.

"Gabi, what's-"

"I have to ask you something Troy"

"Okay, shoot."

"Do you want to have sex?"

"What?!" Troy couldn't believe those words had actually come out of her mouth, was this the right house?

"I mean, are you ready, do you want me to be ready? Is that what this ring means?" She held up her hand and looked at him, her face afraid.

"What? No, Gabi" he took her hand and intertwined her fingers with his own "where did you get that idea?"

"I don't know, Carissa Aven maybe" she mumbled embarrassed.

"Carissa Aven? How would she know what the ring means?"

"Well she has a lot of, you know, experience, and she sort of suggested that you gave me the ring expecting me to thank you by having sex with you" her cheeks flushed to a deeper pink and voice was quiet. "Then I began to notice things that led to believe she could be right"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, where you touch me, when you pulled me into the empty classroom today."

"Oh Gabi, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for any of that to freak you out"

"It's not your fault Troy, I should have realized that you don't want to have sex." She sighed, then suddenly looked up, "Wait, _do_ you want to have sex?"

"No, of course not, we're not ready, I'm not ready"

"Good, I'm not ready either."

"And I don't want you to be" she smiled at him and he smiled back, relieved that everything was okay. "So can I hug you now?"

"Yeah" she giggled and let herself fall into his strong arms. He stroked her long dark hair and felt her chest rise and fall against his own.

"I love you Gabriella Mariah"

**A/N: Reviews are love and I'll love you forever if you give me constructive criticism. Honestly, truly, I really want to know your opinions. I sometimes feel like my writing is fast paced, so tell me what you think ♥ Oh yeah, and I'd love to hear ideas for future one-shots.**

**xoxo Sparks**


	2. Yellow Rain Boots

**A/N: This one is shorter than the first but I was so happy with my last line that I decided not take it any farther. Read and bask in the goodness that is Troyella ♥ And on a totally different topic, when I say "island" I'm talking about a counter in the middle of a kitchen ;)**

**Disclaimer: None of it's mine, all good?**

"Hi Sweetheart" Gabriella grinned as she stepped into the kitchen of the Bolton household on a sunny Saturday morning. Diane Bolton always greeted her like that; she used the same names for Gabriella as she did for Troy, and never failed to make her feel welcome in her home.

"Troy is getting out of the shower, he should be down soon. After, of course, leaving his wet towel on the floor just like I told him not too"

The teenage brunette laughed and seated herself on one of the stools at the island. She turned to face Diane, who a small stack of books in front of her.

"What are you working on?"

"One of my friends is pregnant so we're all putting together a book for her of advice and experiences we've had from our own children. I'm just looking though Troy's baby book and parenting books I had for some inspiration. Want to take a look?"

"Of course!" Gabriella exclaimed as Diane handed her a thin blue book. On the cover were pictures from different nursery tales, and in black ink read the name: Troy Matthew Bolton.

"That's the baby book I kept while I was pregnant until about a year after he was born, Jack teased me but I wanted to write every detail down so I would never forget"

Flipping over to the first page Gabriella let out a giggle, "You craved pistachios when you were pregnant?"

"I sure did, and I liked them best dipped in honey!" Diane said with a smile.

Gabriella looked through the next few pages, and came across a small black and white photo.

"Wow" she sad holding up the picture of an ultrasound, "so this is Troy's first camera close-up"

"Yup. I'll never forget that day. Jack and I had been bickering about something that morning and had barely spoken to each other since we arrived at the hospital, but when I looked up to see what the doctor was pointing to on her screen I saw my son for the very first time and completely forgot about the silly fight. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life seeing him, I remember both Jack and I crying that day."

Gabriella sat, enthralled by the story. "Wow" she whispered.

"What's wow?" Troy had come jumping down the stairs dressed in cargo shorts and a green t-shirt; his shaggy brown hair wet and tussled. Gabriella found herself grinning, there was something about the color green on him that made her knees feel weak.

Walking over to the island Troy slid onto a stool beside Gabriella and laced his fingers through hers.

"I was talking to your mom; we're looking through your baby books"

"Oh this can't be good" he said laughing at Gabriella's grinning face.

"Oh it is, look at this" She passed him the small black and white picture and he took it from her delicate hands.

"Is this me?" he questioned, turning the picture around, trying to find which way it went.

"Yeah, although I'm not sure if that's your head or your butt" Diane and Gabriella laughed and Troy smirked.

"Very funny, I'm sure there are plenty of embarrassing photos of you at your house Gabi"

"Embarrassing photos?" Diane asked "You mean like this?" Diane reached over and handed a picture to her son.

Within a second Troy had it pressed to his chest, making it impossible for Gabriella to see.

"Troy! Let me see!"

"Oh no, no one is seeing this"

Determined to see the picture Gabriella began to touch Troy's bare foot with her own. She did it lightly, just enough to tease him so he'd give in.

"Okay fine!" He handed the picture to Gabriella who bursts into giggles upon seeing it.

"Troy this is adorable!" In the picture stood three-year Troy wearing nothing but a diaper and pair of yellow rain boots. He had curly blonde hair and the same beautiful blue eyes.

As she giggled Diane looked up at the clock on the wall. "Okay you two, I'm off now to run some errands. Troy, your dad is working upstairs and I should be home in a couple of hours" Diane informed them as she closed a book and grabbed her purse.

"Bye Diane"

"Bye Darlings. Call me if Jack tries to use the oven again" she waved as she walked out the door.

Gabriella continued to look through the blue book stopping all of sudden when a certain picture caught her eye.

"Troy, you were a preemie baby?"

"Yeah, I was born a few weeks early and had to spend a few days in the hospital after I was born"

"I never knew that" she said softly, her eyes unable to leave the image of infant Troy lying in an incubator.

"Gabi, is this upsetting you?" he asked her curiously when he saw the quiet expression of her beautiful face.

"I don't know, it's just kind of sad seeing a baby so tiny and helpless like that, and knowing that's it you"

He took her hand in his again, "It's okay Brie, I was fine, lots of babies are born early"

"I know. It just a little scary that's all"

"I know Gabs, but everything's fine, I mean, look at me now. They don't come any more handsome than this!"

The sadness left her brown eyes and they began to twinkle, "You are such a dork Troy"

"I know," he brought his face only and inch from hers and then practically whispered, "but you love me anyway".

His blue eyes shone and she couldn't keep her herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and softly kissing him.

"Hey Troy?" she asked as she pulled away, "just so you know, I'm making copies of the yellow rain boot picture"

**A/N: Constructive criticism? Yes please!**

**xoxoxo Sparks**


	3. On a Piece of Notebook Paper

**A/N: Um, WOW! I was completely overwhelmed by all of your reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me, I was never expecting you all to respond like that. So thank you, merci, grazie ♥♥**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to High School Musical**

"Your rough drafts for this essay will be due a week from Tuesday, and you also have your vocab sheets that we'll have a quiz on next class"

Gabriella groaned at the announcement, her English teacher Ms. Perrin had just added another two assignments to her growing pile of homework. It was Wednesday morning and the minutes that week seemed to drag by very slowly. With Decathlon practices, homework, play rehearsal and SAT prep classes Gabriella was feeling stressed, and the gloomy weather Albuquerque seemed to be set on having only added insult to injury.

The bell rang signaling the end of first period and Gabriella sighed knowing that a difficult history test was waiting for her in her next class. So focused as she mentally reviewed her history notes, she didn't even notice Troy, who had come up beside her in the crowded school hallway. She jumped when she felt someone grab her hand, and even when she looked over to find that familiar pair of deep blue eyes locking with hers her mind was else where, more specifically, England during the Industrial Revolution.

"Oh hi Troy" her voice was distracted and Troy frowned.

"Oh hi Troy? That's all I get?"

Now a bit annoyed Gabriella dropped Troy's hand and pretended to adjust the books in her arms, "Sorry Troy, excuse me for being a little preoccupied"

Troy noticed the sarcasm in her voice, "I didn't mean it like that Gabi", his own voice was defensive, he was under stress as well from his own busy schedule.

"I know, I'm sorry Troy, I'm just a little stressed out right now and I have to get to a history test", then leaving him kiss-less she walked off, her mind already busy thinking about something else.

"No need to say good-bye Gabi, whatever" he grumbled, the words not even meant to reach her ears.

Dropping her test on her teacher's desk an hour later Gabriella let out a breath, and knowing that the bell had already rung she raced off to chemistry class. This class seemed to pass by as slowly as English class had and it felt like years before the lunch bell rang, putting a smile on Gabriella's face for the first time that morning. However, with another test right after lunch Gabriella carried her math binder with her to the red and white lunch table.

Troy felt sorry about their conversation that morning and greeted her with a kiss.

"I'm sorry about this morning Troy" she swiped a French fry from his tray, "Mr. Spiker's test was really freaking me out"

"It's okay, I get it" his smile was forgiving and he gave her hand a squeeze before letting her return to quadratic equations.

He smiled as he watched her study at their busy lunch table; she had tied her brown curls into a messy bun as she always did when she was working. She frowned, obviously frustrated with the information on the page. Troy hated times like this, when something was stressing her out and he couldn't do anything about it. He loved feeling like he could fix that things that hurt her, like he could make her worry go away, but when it came to her busy schedule and demanding classes he could only sit back and watch her work her butt off. Lunch that day was one of his only times with her besides rehearsal for the musical and driving home, and it was always over all too soon.

When the bell rang and the cafeteria began to empty she flipped the binder closed and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Troy smiled "Good luck Gabs, you'll kick ass"

She grinned. "Thanks" she whispered.

And ass indeed was kicked although the test was tough and Gabriella found herself getting frustrated.

"_Two days until the weekend, just two days"_ she thought to herself.

Finally, the most beautiful sound rang through East High: the last bell. Putting books and binders into her bag, Gabriella then arranged the rest of locker as to make the books she would need the next day easily available for her in the morning. Troy laughed at this, but she wasn't the one who once to empty the entire contents of her locker (including a bed sheet, which no one could figure out why he had) just to find _Macbeth_.

"Bolton! Montez! Center stage! We have a lot of work this afternoon, Act 3 is no where close to where is should be!" Darbus's voice echoed throughout the theater and Troy shot Gabriella an apologizing look, it was going to be a long afternoon.

After twenty-seven practices of the same scene, and about ninety-eight groans from Troy and Gabriella Darbus finally let them go for the day, with the reminder that the next day would be even tougher.

"Troy, I think I'm about to fall over! My feet hurt, I'm exhausted and I have so much homework tonight!" Gabriella ran her fingers angrily through her hair and groaned as the couple walked out of school.

Troy didn't know what to say, so he pulled her in close, wrapping his arm around her tiny waist and kissing the top of her head. They two headed for Troy's car, he always dropped her home after practice, it was fifteen minutes of the day that they could spend together without having any else that demanded their attention.

"I'll see you tomorrow Troy" Gabriella's voice was tired and she yawned as she stepped out of his car.

Too tired to be paying much attention, Gabriella didn't notice Troy slip a folded piece of notebook paper into the side of her stuffed book bag as she pulled it out of her seat.

"I love you Brie"

She turned around and smiled, "I love you too".

Walking into the house Gabriella slipped off her shoes and wandered into the kitchen. Swiping a bottle of water from the refrigerator she headed upstairs, and started in on the questions from her chemistry lab.

"Grrr" she grumbled when the tip of her pencil broke and flew across her desk. Without even taking her eyes off her page she reached into her bag to grab another #2. However, after her fingers passed the familiar zipper they found a folded piece of paper lying amongst the highlighters and pens.

With a puzzled look on her face she pulled the paper out of her bag. There was a single letter printed in dark blue pen:

_G._

Curious, Gabriella unfolded the note and turned it right side up. Her eyes began to scan the page and she immediately recognized the bold handwriting.

_Troy Bolton loves Gabriella Montez_

_(and nothing in life, no matter how stressful, will ever be more important that that)_

Gabriella felt small tears form in her eyes as she read the note over and over again. Suddenly history tests, chemistry labs and math homework didn't seem so important. When the day was over, the letters on her report card would never matter as much letters from Troy, the hours she spent studying should never outnumber the number of hours she spent with her incredible boyfriend, her psychotic friends and her loving family.

"Troy Bolton loves Gabriella Montez" she whispered into the silence of her room, "and Gabriella loves him back. Forever."

**A/N: I know that these aren't very long, I feel that it's better to be short and sweet than long and boring, but tell me what you think. I'm also curious: how did you think it was written? The beginning was really just there to give background for the last line so it's not my best writing….let me know ♥**

**xoxoxo Sparks**


	4. Words on the Staircase

**A/N: I actually started this one-shot before the others but it wasn't going where I wanted it to and I abandoned it for a few days. I ended up completely changing the ending (it now sort of goes along with the previous chapter) so I hope you like it. And thanks again for all the amazing reviews you've been giving me, I worked hard to finish this tonight just for you guys ♥**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to High School Musical**

Troy sat in his room, headphones on, attempting his Algebra homework. As he flipped his pencil over again to erase his numbers for the fifth time his phone vibrated beside him. Nine letters appeared on the screen: _Gabriella_. Troy smiled and flipped his phone open.

Tossing his homework aside he greeted her happily "Hi Brie"

"Hi Troy" the small voice on the other end made his heart drop to his stomach

"Brie? What's wrong?"

"Can you come over?" Gabriella's voice was sad and nothing made Troy more scared than that.

He had already tossed on his flip-flops and was heading out the door when he said, "Of course, I'll be there in five minutes"

He raced to her house, his mind trying to figure out what might be upsetting her. He didn't bother to knock on the door, plus he knew Ms. Montez wouldn't be home until late that night. As he came in she was walking down the stairs.

"Hi Gabi" he took her in his arms and her head fell into his chest.

Small tears had formed in her eyes and the second she felt herself in his hug they began to run down her cheeks. Still holding her tight he sat down on the stairs and leaned against the wall, pulling the small girl into his lap.

"Gabi" he whispered rubbing her back, "what's going on?"

"Nothing" her small voice told him.

"Brie, it's okay, you can tell me. I want to know"

"Nothing Troy, nothing is what's going on, and that's the problem" She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Nothing is going on between us, I haven't seen you in ages and we never get to talk at school, I feel like we aren't even together"

The words struck his heart, she was absolutely right, they hadn't hung out in two weeks and even at school they were both so busy that their time together was almost nonexistent.

"I'm sorry Gabi" he brought her close again and she placed her onto his shoulder.

"We've both been so busy it's been hard to find time, but you don't have to get so upset, I'm still here for you"

He held her in his lap, and they sat there in comfortable silence. Troy understood why Gabriella was upset, he hated being apart from her, but something told him that wasn't all she was upset about.

"Gabi?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there something else?"

She sighed and slowly pulled her head off his chest to look him the eye.

"Maybe…maybe we should, relax."

"Relax? What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, her voice was small and he almost didn't hear her. "Maybe we should take a break"

Troy sat there in shock, if he had been slapped across the face and kicked in the stomach at the same time, it still wouldn't hurt as much as the words that had just come out of Gabriella's mouth.

He voice cracked as he struggled to speak, "Take, take a break?"

Gabriella looked up and Troy saw tears running from her sad brown eyes down her cheeks.

"Why Gabi, what did I do?"

"Nothing Troy, you didn't do anything" she took in a breath, "but everything is so crazy right now, we're both under a lot of pressure and stress and it's hard to focus and maybe if we don't have each other to worry about we can get through easier"

Troy couldn't find any words, there was nothing he could say that would justify the screaming emotions he suddenly felt.

"Brie – "

"I'm so sorry" her voice was a whisper as the tears continued to fall.

"What does this mean?" Troy had never been one to show his emotions but suddenly he felt tears in his own eyes, suddenly the most important thing in his life was asking him to back away, suddenly he wanted to scream until his throat was raw.

"I just, I just think that if we take a little break from….from, each other" the words pierced his heart, "then we could concentrate on school and you on basketball until life gets less hectic."

"It's not a break-up Troy, I still love you"

He knew that she needed him to agree to this, she was asking him to do her a favor and if that's what she wanted…

"Okay, we can take a break"

She moved off his lap, where over the last minute she had become less tangled in him, and he stood up. Any other time they said good-bye he would have pulled her close and kissed her, but not this time, this time she couldn't even look at him, this time kissing would have been wrong.

"I'll see you tomorrow" the words were hard to get out, tomorrow seemed unbelievable, like it was impossible for a day to come when Troy and Gabriella weren't together.

"Bye Troy. I'm so sorry"

He wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her that it wasn't her fault and that she didn't have to be sorry, instead he gave her one last glace and closed the front door of her house behind him.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered to an empty house.

TO BE CONTINUED

**A/N: The other day I came up with the line that inspired the next part, so hopefully I'll have it up soon. I hope you don't mind it ending like this, it's not a cliffhanger as much as it the background for the next chapter. But go ahead and tell me what you think. Is it realistic? Would Troy really get upset like he did? Would Gabriella actually want to take a break from their relationship? Reviews are love so bring them on. **

**xoxoxo Sparks**

**And one last thing, sometimes I use the same type of character reaction or wording in different one-shots, does that seem repetitive or boring to read a similar line in two different chapters?**


	5. Dying Without You

**A/N: This is the continuation of the previous chapter, and I don't have anything else to say but that ♥ So read on!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to High School Musical**

Gabriella tossed and turned in bed for the hundredth time that night. The glowing numbers on her clock told her it was two-thirty in the morning but she couldn't find the heart to care, lately she had been falling asleep at that time every night. As she turned onto her side her eyes met something on her bedside table, a framed picture of her and Troy. Kelsi had taken it without their knowledge one "Movie Night" evening when everyone was hanging out at Chad's house. Troy was spread out on the couch with Gabriella lying on top of him, her head on his chest. Looking closely one could see their hands linked together beside their pressing bodies. As she looked at the picture Gabriella began to cry, she hadn't been able to touch him like that in four days. Four days without kisses, hand-holding, waist touching, flirting or phone calls. Four days of torture.

The next morning Gabriella walked slowly into school; things had been so awkward with Troy since the afternoon on the staircase. They smiled at each other and even attempted to make small talk, but neither one knew how to go from lovers to friends and any interaction between them was just painful.

"Hi Gabi" Taylor had come up beside Gabriella at her locker. She spoke with a soothing tone knowing the pain her best friend was going through.

Gabriella sighed as she took a book from her locker, "Hi Taylor"

Taylor knew from Chad that Troy and Zeke were in the library that morning trying to finish up some homework (which they would have already finished if they didn't insist on playing PS3 all afternoon, at least, according to Taylor), so she suggested the two hang out in the cafeteria before the bell rang for class.

"Sure" was all Gabriella answered, really having no preference on the matter.

Dropping their bags onto the floor as they sat down at an empty lunch table Taylor saw tears in Gabriella's eyes.

"Gabi, why don't you tell him? You're both obviously upset so just get back together."

"I can't. It wouldn't be fair, we're both so busy and getting back together would just put more pressure on us."

'But Gabi – "

"Please don't Taylor; let's just talk about something else."

Taylor sighed knowing that Gabriella was putting herself through hell with everyday she wasn't with Troy, but being the good friend she was, she changed the subject, "So what did you choose to do your English paper on?"

Meanwhile in the library Troy and Zeke were reading through their history notes in an attempt to finish a worksheet due next class.

"Do you have that one with the picture of the dead Italian guy on it? I never finished it…" Zeke asked, obviously clueless to the identity of Mussolini.

"Um yeah, here it is" Troy fished it out of his binder and was about to pass it over when his eyes found a note scribbled in the top left corner.

_Gabi loves Troy_

Troy felt his heart drop into his stomach and he put his head in his hands. Gabriella had written on his paper one afternoon when she was helping him memorize European leaders of World War II.

"Dude, what's-" Zeke stopped when he saw the words written in Gabriella's loopy handwriting on the top of Troy's page. He didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say. No one had when they found out the "golden couple" was on a break. The last few days had been full of whispers and glances between the group.

Suddenly Troy managed to speak, although his voice sad and tired, "I feel like I'm dying without her"

"Then tell her"

He brought his head up, "I can't. She asked me to do this for her; I can't go back on a promise"

Before Zeke could find a way to respond Troy put his head back in his hands and spoke in a quiet, desperate voice, "It hurts not to be able to touch her."

"God man, I'm sorry"

Troy looked up, all of sudden ready to change the subject. "Don't be, let's just finish this work."

All that followed was another painful school day for the Wildcats. Troy and Gabriella had stopped sitting beside each other (or rather, tangled up in each other) at lunch, spoke only as "Arnold" and "Minnie" during rehearsal and not once since the conversation on the staircase did Troy take Gabriella home in the evenings. None of these things were ever discussed, both just seemed to know that things were different now and had to be treated as so.

As Gabriella sat on her bedroom floor that afternoon, her back against her bed and her eyes gazing out the window she noticed a red ribbon tied to her balcony. With just one glance at the ribbon the tears began to fall. It was about three months ago when Troy had climbed onto her balcony wanting to see her. They had stood out there together, him behind her with his arms wrapped tight around her waist. When he finally had to leave he bent down and kissed her softly, then for the first time in their relationship he whispered three little words into her ear: "I love you".

She had the tied the red ribbon that had been in her hair that day on the balcony as a reminder of that perfect evening, but now it just made her heart ache. As she leaned her head back onto her bed she suddenly realized how completely stupid she was acting. Not being with Troy didn't take away stress, it only added pain. She had hurt them both with her silly demand and now they were suffering more than she thought imaginable.

"_Tomorrow" _she thought a plan forming her in head, "_this torture will stop_"

Gabriella woke up the next morning happier than she had felt in days. She got dressed quickly and through on her favorite article of clothing, a red sweatshirt with B-O-L-T-O-N and the number 14 written in white letters on the back.

When she got to school she dumped her bag into her locker and headed to the next hallway over. As she turned the corner she exhaled a sigh of relief, Troy was at his locker, just like she needed him to be.

As she got closer she called out to him grinning, "Hey Bolton!"

Immediately recognizing her voice he whipped around to see her walking right towards him, her torso safely covered by his sweatshirt.

"Gabrie-"

Before he could get the words out her hands were on his neck and her lips were passionately kissing his own. His instant reflexes brought his hands to her waist and he pulled her close. She moved her hands down to his chest and he put his in her long, curly hair. He felt her tongue against his lips and he opened his mouth to her knowing this was no accident. When they finally had to pull away she stood on her toes and put her forehead to his.

She then linked their fingers together and whispered softly words only meant for his ears, "I missed you. Be my boyfriend again?"

She got her answer when he smiled and put his soft lips back on hers.

**A/N: Yay! My writer's block went away! I started this then halfway through got stuck with total writer's block, so I hope you like it. And for everyone who was worried about Troyella, don't be, I am 100 Troyella so no worries :) Plus, I love writing "make-ups" so there's little chance I'm ever going to write a break-up where they don't get back together. Let me know what you think, is the ending too cliché?**

**xoxoxo Sparks**

**And by the way – this entire one-shot was written so I could use the line "I'm dying without her" ♥**


	6. Basketball Sprain

**A/N: I'm so glad you all liked the Troyella make-up! Those are always fun to write. Here is another one-shot inspired by a collection of things taken from real life (except the hunky, blue-eyed basketball player, darn it!) and of course written with lots of Troyella goodness **♥

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to High School Musical**

The hot sun shone down on Albuquerque as Troy and Gabriella stood outside the Bolton house on Troy's "beloved" basketball court. Troy wiped his forehead and dribbled the basketball around Gabriella, she loved playing basketball with him and he always got a kick out of her competitive side.

"Bolton you should just give up now" Gabriella grinned as she blocked Troy from getting any farther down the court.

Troy let out a laugh, "I don't think so Gabs, I might love you, but I'll never loose against you."

Her brown eyes twinkled and she stepped so close to him that he could feel her hot breath on his neck, "Even I refuse to…kiss you…until you do?"

A love-struck grin appeared on his face, he loved when she teased him, and those big brown eyes could get him to do about anything.

"You're a tease Brie."

Reaching up until her lips were a centimeter from his, he leaned down to kiss her, until she pulled away and grinned, "Sorry Bolton, you haven't won yet."

His blue eyes sparkled as she stepped back and motioned for him to keep playing.

Jumping to her left in attempt to pass her, his foot caught on her ankle and Gabriella went falling back onto the hard, clay court.

"Gabi! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Troy let go of the ball and dropped to his knees.

Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut, "I don't know Troy, my wrist really hurts."

Troy's mind raced as Gabriella lay on the ground in pain in front of him.

"How bad, can, can you move it?"

Troy watched her inhale sharply when she tried to bend her wrist, "Stop Gabi!"

"Troy, can you help me up?"

Holding on to her other arm and carefully lifting her from the ground he was able to safely pull her up from the court.

The couple then walked slowly inside where Jack Bolton was sitting in the kitchen.

Troy explained the situation to his dad, and twenty minutes later after calling Miss Montez and voting that a trip to the hospital was necessary, Troy, Gabriella and her mother sat in the car on the way to East Albuquerque Medical Center. Gabriella's left arm was held tight against her chest and Troy held her other hand linked with his own.

"Please sign in and take a seat, we'll call you when you can be seen." the emergency room's receptionist informed Gabriella's mother. Sighing, Gabriella took a seat beside Troy in the waiting room as her mother stood at the counter to fill out forms. Looking around at all the other patients she sighed, "I think we're gonna be here a while. I'm sorry."

"What? No Gabi, don't be sorry" he squeezed her hand, "I want to be here with you."

She leaned in and rested her head on his chest, "Thanks Troy."

Three tic-tac-toes games, one round of I Spy, a conversation about Gilmore Girls and forty-five minutes later Gabriella was taken to a small room where she sat beside her boyfriend, who had yet to let to go of her hand, on a small examining table.

"Gabriella Montez, we're going to be doing some x-rays of your arm so you'll need to come with me." The doctor looked up from his clipboard and smiled, "and your mother and friend may come as well."

The doctor led her into another room where she, Troy and her Miss Montez were given lead "suits" to wear against radiation from the x-rays.

As she lay down on the table where the x-rays would be taken, the doctor positioned her arm and headed to the other side of the room.

"Gabriella, before we take these pictures, we need to know if there is any chance you could be pregnant."

Gabriella felt herself blush, and although she couldn't see him, Troy's own cheeks turned pink and he looked down at feet, all of sudden very aware of his girlfriend's mother right beside him.

"No." Gabriella said quickly as the doctor nodded.

After three different x-rays were taken Gabriella found herself back in the small doctor's room awaiting the results.

"Gabriella?"

She had been running her fingers along Troy's palm in an attempt not to fall asleep of boredom when the doctor walked into the room.

"Your x-rays show that that your wrist is not broken, you've just sprained it. Now you still have to wrap it up and not use it for a couple of weeks but it's no where near as serious as a break."

"Good." Troy and Miss Montez said simultaneously, both breathing a sigh of relief.

Another doctor came in and within five minutes her left wrist was in a splint and wrapped up in a soft bandage.

When the three finally arrived back at the Montez house Troy and Gabriella collapsed onto her couch where Gabriella made herself comfortable with her head in Troy's lap.

Troy slowly lifted her sprained wrist to his face and kissed it softly. "I'm so sorry I hurt you Brie."

"It's not your fault Troy; trust me, with my coordination it was bound to happen eventually"

He laughed and began to stroke her hair. Exhausted from the day's events Gabriella found her eyes falling closed to the rhythmic movement of Troy's hands in her hair.

"Troy?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to need someone to carry my books for a little while. Know anyone who might be interested?"

**A/N: Whew, two chapters in one day! I hope you liked them, I really enjoyed writing this although let me know if you think all the details about the hospital were a little boring. Did the part where she hurt herself seem a little rushed? How realistic is it that Troy would be allowed in the x-ray room with her? Review it out ♥**

**xoxoxo Sparks**


	7. A blue bowl of M&Ms

**A/N: This actually uses two idea I had, I just mixed them into one :) I really hope you like it, I came up with the idea and knew that I couldn't pass up an opportunity to use it ♥ Hope you like, because I know I appreciate all your reviews ♥**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to High School Musical, or M&Ms**

The comfortable silence that had settled in the Montez household broke when Gabriella through back her head and laughed at her boyfriend's attempt to bring a bowl of M&Ms closer using only his feet. The blue ceramic bowl, filled with candy-coated chocolate, sat on the coffee table in front of the couch that Gabriella and Troy were currently tangled up on.

"You are such a lazy bum" she giggled swatting his feet away and grabbing the bowl with her hands.

After taking a handful of M&Ms (only green and blue of course) she passed it over to a grinning Troy. He laughed at her pickiness and popped a red one in his mouth. The couple had been hanging out together at Gabriella's enjoying the fact that their crazy week had come to a close and at the moment, nothing demanded their attention beside's each other.

Gabriella leaned over and placed her head on Troy's shoulder, "Did you ever play that game with M&Ms where for every M&M in your cup you had you say something about yourself?"

"You mean the one that you play, like, at the beginning of the year?"

She nodded and placed a green M&M on her tongue.

"Yeah, I liked that game, but that's probably just because we got candy in class" Troy laughed before taking another handful.

Gabriella looked up at the blue-eyed boy, "Do you want to play?"

He smiled at his girlfriend's innocence and spontaneity, "The M&M game?"

"Yeah."

"Sure, you go first"

Gabriella took another of handful of candy and after sorting out any piece that wasn't green or blue (and ignoring the laughs from the boy beside her) she shifted her body so she was laying on Troy, their bare feet touching at the end of the couch. She held up a blue M&M. "I stole your blue striped shirt and sometimes wear it to bed"

Troy's body moved as he laughed, "I thought I was going crazy when I couldn't find it!"

"Sorry," she giggled, "I'll give it back."

"No way, I want you to wear it."

"Okay, but can you take it back for a little while, it doesn't smell like you right now"

Gabriella couldn't see the grin on Troy's face, "Sure, just like the sweatshirt."

Gabriella made Troy where his red Wildcat sweatshirt every so often as to not lose the scent. He didn't mind at all, no one made him feel as special as she did when she came waltzing into school with his number on her back. He remembered back to the first time she had him wear it after he had given it to her; she had gotten home from a rough day at school and was almost in tears when she wrapped it around herself only to find that his familiar scent had disappeared. She had called him right away and asked him to wear it the next day at school, of course he agreed within seconds; her sad voice was enough to convince him of anything.

Gabriella snapped him back to the present when he felt her bare toes rub against his own and her hand run up and down his upper leg.

"It's your turn you know." she nudged him.

Troy picked up a brown M&M from the pile in his hand, "Sharpay made me cry in second grade."

Her entire body jolting from laughter, Gabriella had to catch herself before she fell off the couch. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes, and it was rather traumatic, thank you very much."

"What happened?" she giggled.

Blushing and grinning at the same time Troy held on to his girlfriend before she tumbled onto the floor, "Let's just say it involved glue and glitter and all my clothes"

This only caused Gabriella to laugh harder, but as she continued to giggle she suddenly felt Troy's body shift and his lips pressed against her own.

"You're just trying to shut me up" she grinned as he pulled back.

"Maybe" he said softly leaning in to kiss her again.

"But it's your turn now" he told her just centimeters away from her lips.

"Tease" she mumbled under her breath as she adjusted herself back onto his stomach. She grabbed another M&M and sighed, trying to think of something to say.

"Tell me" he said to her as he stroked her hair, "something that you've never told anyone else."

He silently wondered if he had asked too much, Gabriella was sensitive and might not want to reveal her secrets, but it was only a few seconds before she replied. "You made me cry last week."

Troy's breathing stopped the second those words came out of her mouth. He had made her cry? He suddenly felt like a traitor, a player, anything and everything horrible.

"How?" he asked, racking his mind for what he could have done.

"It's really stupid, I didn't tell you because I knew I was overreacting."

Dropping the M&Ms he was holding back into he bowl he reached down to put his hand over hers, intertwining their fingers, "I still want to know Brie."

Gabriella let out a small breath, "Well, I was talking to Sage Eden and Nichole Mariano and they started telling me how I about to be the first to break your three-month rule but I had no idea what they were talking about."

Squeezing his blue eyes shut he could already hear the words Gabriella was about to say. Troy had never had a relationship that went past three months, and people at East High construed this to mean something different than it did, which was just that he had never cared enough about the girls he had dated to make it last that long. However, the rumor mill at East High made it out to be that he dumped every girl after three months so he could hook-up with someone new.

"And when they explained it to me I was really surprised, but I wasn't worried. But then, you started getting really busy and I began to wonder…if it was true."

"Oh god" Troy muttered, mentally kicking himself for not warning his beautiful girlfriend about that rumor before hand.

"I should have told you about that Gabs, I'm sorry."

"No, its okay Troy, I realized the next day I was being stupid and just overreacting about something that I didn't even have proof of."

She sighed and snuggled in closer to his body, her long brown curls falling down his chest.

"Let's just forget about it" she said in a sing-songy voice, "and isn't it your turn now?" She asked reaching over to the cedar coffee table, where the blue bowl was now placed, and picked up a single green M&M. She put it into his open palm and waited for his answer.

"The way you make me feel scares the crap out of me."

A smiled crossed Gabriella's face and she reached her arms above her head, wrapping them behind her, around his neck.

"Good. That was my plan" she teased.

Then closing her eyes she took in her surroundings. She wanted to forever remember how Troy smelled, how he felt as he held her, the rhythm of his breathing and the familiar beat of his heart.

"Good Montez" he whispered into her hair as he drew invisible shapes on her stomach, "I'm very glad."

**A/N: Again, too rushed? Maybe I just think that because I wrote it and I'm very critical of my work, but let me know. And also, did the mood shift from silly to serious to silly to serious too fast? I think this might be my longest one-shot yet :) **

**Reviews are love ♥ **

**xoxoxo Sparks**


	8. I'm better with you

**A/N: Hello Readers :D I went back and read the story so far and I realized I made a timing mistake, so to clear it up, it's now mid-April and Troy and Gabriella have been together for about three months. In the first one-shot I said it was September, then I said that Troy and Gabriella had been together three months, which, if they started dating in January like I have them, didn't make any sense. So I went back and fixed it :) As you can tell, this is not a "story" but it does follow a timeline.**

**And by the way, thanks for all the reviews I've been getting; there are almost 100 of them! –falls into shock–**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to High School Musical**

_Swoosh!_

Outside the Bolton house three sweaty boys were running up and down the clay court. A basketball flew from Chad's hands and dunked perfectly into the net. Troy, Chad and Jason had been playing one-on-one-on-one basketball for a couple hours, a method of playing so cleverly invented by Jason when the trio found themselves with uneven teams. It was the last Saturday of spring break, the evening weather was gorgeously warm and although daylight had passed, lights beside the court regularly kept the boys playing into the night.

Troy grabbed the ball from Chad and dribbled it on the hard court in front of him, "Let's play one more basket, then I gotta go."

Gabriella had been in New York the past six days visiting family for her cousin's wedding. With her flight getting into the airport at six forty-five Troy figured she would be in walking in her front door at any minute. A small smile appeared on his face knowing that after almost a week of living on phone calls he would soon be able to see her, hold her and kiss her.

Snatching the ball from Troy, Jason took it down court and watched it hit the rim before bouncing in. Troy wiped his brow and the three boys collapsed on the grass. After chugging down water, and Jason stealing a bottle from Troy who stole it from Chad who stole it back from Jason, the boys parted ways and Troy headed inside.

Fifteen minutes later Troy pulled a navy blue t-shirt over his shaggy brown hair, still damp from his quick shower, and headed to a house just a few blocks over.

With a grin on his face he knocked twice on the front door of the Montez house and rolled back and forth on his feet as he waited for the brunette. This was the first time they had been apart for more than a couple days and he had missed her like crazy, hearing her voice was nice, but it was nothing like holding her where she fit so perfectly into his arms. Nothing like burying his face in her hair and breathing in the sweet smell of coconut shampoo, and definitely, definitely nothing like kissing her, tasting her, knowing she was his.

Suddenly the door swung open and a bright smile broke him from his thoughts, "Troy!"

"Gabi!" he breathed when he saw the petite girl standing in front of him, brown curls falling across her shoulders and her brown eyes gazing into his baby blues.

He stepped close and snaked his strong arms around her tiny waist. "I missed you so much" he whispered as he leaned in close to her.

He was counteracted though when Gabriella quickly pulled back, "Don't kiss me" she told him.

He froze when a moment of panic overcame him. His eyes flickered up and down her face in confusion looking for an answer to her strange plea.

"I'm sick" she frowned, "since yesterday. I have a headache and I feel awful," she sighed and looked back at his face, "and I don't want you to be sick."

Troy paused for a moment, still holding her tight, and whispered, "I don't care."

His lips found hers as her eyes fluttered shut and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He moved his hands up and down her sides sending chills wherever he touched. He went to deepen the kiss, but she pulled away and laid a hand on his chest. "I really am sick Troy, I'm sorry, but I feel like crap and I would hate for you to be sick too."

"Okay, you're right" he laughed, taking her hands in his. "When did this happen anyway? Do you need to sit down? Can I get you something?"

Gabriella smiled at her caring boyfriend, whose arrival made her momentarily forget how hot her body felt from the oncoming illness. She pulled him into the house and shut the door. She plopped down onto the couch, he sat down beside her and pulled her close so she was leaning into his shoulder.

"I didn't feel very good yesterday but I ignored it, but then it got worse today and now I think I'm getting a fever or something." She snuggled closer but for the third time in two minutes she pulled back, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I don't want to give you my germs. You should probably go."

"Gabi", his tone was serious and he pulled her back into his shoulder, "I haven't seen you in a week, I love you and I missed and I would rather be here taking care of you than sitting at home knowing you were sick and I wasn't helping."

Troy's blue eyes were soft and Gabriella felt her heart melt at his sweet words. He interlaced their fingers and kissed the back of her hand. He was about to speak again but a kind voice was heard coming down the stairs, "Hello Troy. How are you?"

"Hi Miss Montez, I'm great, feeling better than Gabi at least. But um, would you mind if I stayed? I know she's sick but I'd like to be here."

Anna Montez grinned at the sweet teenage boy, "If Gabi is up to it, but I've discovered that we have almost no food in the house so I'm making a run to the grocery store." She smiled then a sly grin appeared on her face, "I trust you both to behave while I'm gone."

The teenagers blushed as Anna walked out the door, "Oh Gabi, I'll be back soon but make sure you take some Advil and start drinking something."

Once the door closed Gabriella stood up to walk into the kitchen but Troy stepped in front of her. "How about you sit down, tell me where the Advil is and I'll bring it to you along with something to drink?"

"You get me something to drink, but I'll get the Advil."

Troy ran his hand down her arm, "No, just tell me where it is."

Gabriella tried to hide her grin, "It's in the bathroom cupboard, the bathroom cupboard of an all girl house-hold."

Troy blushed, "You should get the Advil."

The Latina giggled and went across the house to her mother's bathroom. Coming back into the living room she found Troy carrying two glasses of orange juice into the room.

"Nice choice Troy, perfect sick drink." Gabriella smiled as she gulped down the small pill.

Troy laughed, sat beside her on the couch and brought her head into his lap. Gabriella pulled a blanket out from a basket beside the couch and wrapped it around her self. Troy ran his fingers through her brown locks, "How do you feel?"

"Horrible." Gabriella yawned, the rhythmic feel of his hands through her hair showing her how tired she was.

Troy placed a cool hand on her forehead and frowned at how hot she felt, "Geez Gabs, you really are sick."

"I know, I've been around so many people lately, I could have gotten it from anyone, and – hold on, we keep talking about how I feel, how are you?"

Troy chuckled at his girlfriend, even when she felt sick she was the sweetest girl he knew. "Well, I'm good, kind of tired actually, I've been getting up early lately to run and just played basketball for two hours before I came here. But I feel better with you."

"I love you."

Troy put his hand on her back and rubbed the bare skin under her shirt as Gabriella's eyes began to droop and she repositioned her head on his lap.

Anna Montez returned home forty-five minutes later to find two teenagers, lying together, asleep on the couch.

**A/N: Okay, okay, I know I haven't updated in ages and I'm sorry. I got the idea for this weeks ago and finally started it last week, it just took me awhile to write. I really hope you liked it, it was all fluff but that's what this story is about ♥**

**Shoot me a review,**

**Sparks**

**xoxoxoxo**


	9. Blessed

Every weekday morning a red Jeep Wrangler stopped in front of the Montez house, every morning Gabriella got in and every morning Gabriella was greeted with a kiss. Except for this morning. After saying a quick good bye to her mother and bouncing out the door, backpack, waffle and World History poster in hand she crossed the street and walked up to the familiar car. After dropping her bag and poster into the back seat, Gabriella moved into the car beside Troy and flashed him a smile. However it quickly disappeared at the 'sight of the serious expression on Troy's face.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked worriedly.

"Gabby, um, I have to tell you something, okay?" He reached out to take her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze.

Gabriella tried to swallow but her throat felt tight; never had Troy made her worry like this. All sorts of scenarios raced through her mind, the few seconds of silence were terrifying.

"Okay." She managed to croak.

"Gabby, this morning after my dad got to school he called me to tell me something that I feel I should tell you before we get to school."

Her breathing had become heavy and worried as her grip on Troy's hand became tighter.

"Brie" he paused, trying to manage the words, "Lauren Garvis was killed this morning."

_Lauren Garvis was killed this morning. Lauren Garvis was killed this morning._

Gabriella opened to her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find the words to say. Suddenly small tears began to slide down her cheeks leaving their salty paths to stain her tan skin.

"Lauren?" she asked in a choke. Lauren Garvis was a sweet, bubbly girl who Gabriella had quickly befriended in French class. The two had never hung out outside of school, but were close none the less. Every time their teacher Madame Carrington would begin another story about her twenty-seven year old son, who in the girl's opinion was a bit of a mama's boy, Lauren would shoot a silly glance to Gabriella and the two would have to stifle their laughs as "Madame" carried on about her "little Thomas".

Troy gave her a sad smile and nodded. Then gently touching her face he softly wiped away her tears with his thumb. Gabriella was the most emotional of the group and so caring to everyone, he knew how much she must be breaking.

"But, but, how?"

"There was a meeting for the girl's track team before school this morning and she was supposed to go, but she was hit Gabs. Supposedly her mom dropped her off at the shopping center and while was walking over to school she was hit by some guy. She died on the way to the hospital."

"So, it happened just a little while ago?" The words were hard to get out; any words were hard to get out. It all seemed so surreal like she would walk into school and see Lauren calling over to her, or trying to find a book in her messy locker, even though so never would.

"About a half hour ago Brie." He brought his hands to her arms and rubbed small circles on her soft skin. "Do you want to stay home today? You don't have to come to school if you don't want to."

Gabriella looked down at her hands and shook her head. A few tears dropped from her watery eyes onto Troy's jean covered knee.

""I'll stay home with you." Troy searched for a connection with her eyes, but her long curls had covered her face.

She shook her head again and wrung her hands. In silence they sat for a couple of minutes, Troy wiped a hand across his face, not quite sure what to say.

"Troy, it wasn't her fault. This is completely unfair!" Gabriella broke into a sob and fell into Troy's chest.

"I know Brie" he sighed and closed his eyes, "it doesn't make sense."

Troy then eyed the digital clock on the dashboard and gave Gabriella's hands another squeeze, "Gabby, if you want to stay home you have to decide now because we gotta go."

"I don't want to stay home!" She had never snapped at him and immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean….let's just go."

Squeezing her hand once more, he turned in his seat as she did in hers and he pulled away from her house.

As he drove Troy heard soft sobs and looked over at his crying girl. Using her gentle fingers she wiped at her cheeks, finding that to be useless she began to use the hem of her shirt. Then without a word, Troy reached to the back seat and pulled a t-shirt out of a red and white gym bag. He handed it to her and she clutched it tightly between her fingers then wiped her crying eyes. Black stains began to appear but Troy didn't give a damn, her precious girl was hurting.

About ten minutes later Troy heard Gabriella gasp. "Oh my god." Looking through the front of the car the teens could see a couple police cars and many police men about five hundred yards from the school building. Neither one said what they both knew: that was where it had happened; that was where Lauren had been so unjustly hit.

"Oh god." Troy mumbled under his breath as he heard Gabriella's sobs get heavier. "Listen, I can take you home right now Brie, it's okay."

"No, I want to be here with everyone." She told him as the Jeep pulled into spot 379 in the student parking lot. He turned off the ignition but neither made any move to exit the car. Troy reached an arm over her shoulder she fell into him.

As her sobs subsided Troy spoke gently, "Are you ready to go inside?"

"Uh-huh" she said wiping another tear from her face, "but I look like a mess."

"Nah, you look gorgeous."

She gave a weak smile and opened her door, but she paused before getting out.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I wear that today?" she asked pointing at a navy blue Nike sweatshirt sitting in his car.

"Of course" he grabbed it and handed it to her, then watched her slowly pull it over her head and bring all her curls out from inside it. She then grabbed her bag, and went to grab her poster, but Troy got it first.

"Come on." He smiled at her, swung his own bag over his shoulder and grabbed her hand.

Gabriella smiled at another friend named Christine on her way in. She knew that Lauren and Christine, who was just as sweet and friendly as Lauren, were friends and her heart broke for everyone else who felt as bad or even worse than she did.

Gabriella wiped at her tear stained face, trying to make herself look more presentable as the couple walked into the building. Taking a left down a hallway a large group of students suddenly came into view. About twenty five students had gathered around locker 739, a locker now covered in signs and pictures and flowers, a locker belonging to a friendly girl named Lauren Garvis. Gabriella spotted her best friend in the crowd, and Taylor pulled her into a teary hug the second she was close enough. The two girls held each other tightly as their other friends gathered around them.

As the group of friends moved away from the growing crowd Gabriella took Troy in one hand and Taylor in her other. No one said anything, the girls wiped tears from their eyes, but everyone was silent. So suddenly thankful to be so blessed with the people she had and the fact that everyone was okay, Gabriella looked around at her friends and giving them a small smile she spoke, "I love you guys."

**A/N: Um, wow, that was a little emotional to write. I wasn't sure how I was going to write it, how I was going to tie it to Troyella and I had no clue how I was going to end it, but I really like it. It was based off two real-life stories from my year. One is a girl in my grade who was accidentally killed by part of tree one snow day and died on the way to the hospital. The other was a friend of my best friend in Texas who was killed before school one morning. So this is for them and every other teen who deserves to still be here today, but isn't.**

**I love you all, be thankful for everyday you are here. It could end at any moment so live it to the best ♥**

**xoxoxox**

**Sparks**


	10. Always

A/N: This is slightly connected to the last chapter. So in case you don't remember know this: In the last chapter a friend of the Wildcats (she was closest to Gabriella) named Lauren was killed one morning before school when she was hit by a car as she crossed the street. This chapter isn't as sad as the last one but it's sort of the aftermath of everything.

"_Lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, pickles and roast beef. Mmmm,Troy Bolton you are holding a masterpiece in your hands."_

Seated amongst his chatting friends at a red and white, and rather sticky, lunch table, Troy lifted an unusually large sandwich to his mouth, his taste buds already watering at the thought of it. As his teeth bit through the soft, white bread he felt a foot touch his under the lunch table. Troy placed the "masterpiece" on top of his brown paper bag, which Jason was momentarily ripping up for spitballs, and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend. He gave her a smile as he rubbed her arm, and then brought both his hands back to his lunch. This however, was not enough for Gabriella. She wiggled closer to Troy on the bench until their sides were touching and she leaned her knee against his. Normally Troy loved when his body touched Gabriella's, whether it was their linking pinkie fingers or her sitting on his lap, but today was different.

"You okay?" he asked her after swallowing a bite of tomato.

"Mmm-hmmm." She nodded as she reached for her water bottle and flashed him a small smile, but something about it was off. Troy could read her like a book, and he had taken notice over the past few days that something was not right, something was different.

"You sure?" He whispered to her kindly, his face only inches from hers.

"Yeah, I'm fine Troy."

"Okay, good." He responded quietly. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze, then began to stand up.

All of sudden a worried look crossed Gabriella's face, "Where are going?"

"I'm just going to get a cookie." He held up a one dollar bill as proof as he looked at her quizzically.

"Oh…okay."

"Is that alright?" Her new mood confused Troy, everything he did seemed to frighten her a bit and he was clueless as to why.

"Of course." She told him popping a French fry into her mouth.

As he walked towards the lunch line his face scrunched up in confusion. Three days ago while watching a movie at Taylor's house she had held onto to his shirt throughout the entire thing, then didn't leave his side as he played pool with Chad and Zeke. And the past two days she had worn something of his to school, on Monday it was an Adidas sweatshirt, today it was a "Wildcats Basketball 2005" shirt tied on the side with a rubber band. It wasn't that her need to be with him was annoying, as many people might assume, it was that she was worrying him. She held onto him like a small child which was completely out of character for the smart girl.

"Do you want a piece of _la cookie_?" Troy asked lowering himself onto the bench after his extravagant purchase of one chocolate chip cookie from a lunch lady named Delores. He slid the chocolate chip cookie out of the small plastic bag and held it up to Gabriella. She scrunched her nose and shook her head.

"Oh yeah" he smiled "I forgot about your cookie fear."

"I don't have a cookie fear! It was just one time and I was choking thank you very much!" She tapped the end of his nose with a single finger causing him to laugh at her little quirk. She smiled back at him while very slightly moving her hip over to touch his. This quickly changed his expression from amused to puzzled, but he said nothing and plucked a chocolate chip out of the baked dough and swirled it around his mouth.

"Do you think Miss Marzelos is actually a man?" Gabriella blew a strand of hair from her face and reached for a "World of Chemistry" book from her locker.

"Without a doubt. It's really only the explanation for her, um, unusually deep voice."

Gabriella laughed at her boyfriend and the heavy book slipped from her hands.

"Woah Gabby!" Troy's hands shot out to catch the book as it opened and the pages sprawled on his arms.

"Nice reflexes." Gabriella raised an eyebrow and took the book from Troy, fixing a folded page and sliding the book into her bag.

"Well I am part cat you know."

"Ew, I'm dating a cat?"

"Okay, so maybe scratch the cat part."

"Mmm, okay." She giggled and closed her locker. He gave her a smile and linked his fingers with hers as they began to make their way down the hallway towards the high school's front doors.

"So I got a 93 on my French test, I forgot to tell you earlier."

"Troy! That's amazing. Je suis très fière!"

"Um, thanks."

"Do you even know what I just said?"

"Something about fire?"

"No, it means I'm proud of you." She squeezed his hand and he laughed with a pair of twinkling baby blues.

"How did you even pass the test if you don't know what that means?"

Troy smirked and cocked his head, "I'm a good guesser?"

"You're a good lot of things." Gabriella gave a shy smile and looked to the ground, a mass of brown curls falling over her shoulders. She then reached over and rubbed the hem of his shirt between her thumb and pointer finger.

"_Oh man."_ Troy clenched his fist and looked at her worriedly. So quickly had she turned from happy Gabriella to the Gabriella that held onto him as if he were about to run away.

"Uh Gabs, listen-"

"Do want you come over this evening? For dinner? My mom promised me we'd have tacos tonight." She wiggled her eyebrows at him, he loved tacos, more than anyone she knew. He ate five in a row one evening and she had watched open-mouthed as he shoveled in it like a starving man. He had called it "talent", she had called it "male teenagerism".

"Yeah, I don't really have any homework so my parents will probably let me. What time?"

"My mom will be home around six, so six-thirty?"

"_Is that when you're going to tell me what's going on?"_

She gave him a smile, waiting for his response as the she continued to grasp the soft white fabric held between her fingers.

He nodded and gave her a smile, "Oh yeah, cool."

"Mooooom!" Gabriella looked up from the fridge and shouted upstairs to her mother. "You told me to put out olives but I can't find any!"

"Check the bottom drawer!" Anna Montez yelled back from her upstairs office.

Gabriella sighed and rolled her eyes. Squatting down she jimmied the drawer open, and after sorting through bags of vegetables came across a can of black olives.

"Found them!"

She pulled open a cabinet drawer and rummaged around until she found the can opener. But just as she had it placed onto "Harrison & Harrison's Premium Black Olives" she heard the sound of a knock from the front door.

Dropping the can opener onto the tile counter she hurried to the door and pulled it open.

"Hi." She smiled at Troy and reached up to kiss him. "Come on in."

Troy stepped into the house and walked beside her to the kitchen where he saw plates and bowls of taco makings.

"I love coming here." He said eyeing the salsa and grinning.

"I just have to open the olives then when my mom comes down we can eat."

"I'll open 'em."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow at him, "Really?"

"That was one little accident! And as I remember it didn't actually take you that long to get all the sauce out of your hair. And you have serious hair!"

Standing beside Troy as he maneuvered the opener around the can, Gabriella laughed at the memory and placed her head against his arm after the top of the can had successfully come off. Troy pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around his middle and closed her eyes, squeezing him tightly.

"_Oh Gabs"_ he thought resting his chin on top of her head, _"what's going on with you?"_

Seconds later Anna Montez walked into the kitchen and the three made their way down the counter, piling the many toppings into their taco shells and then sitting down at the table where Gabriella and her mother each had one taco, and Troy downed three.

Later, after the dishes had been cleared and the leftovers put away in the refrigerator Gabriella and Troy stepped outside into the cool night air and laid together on the hammock.

With darkness settling in and the stars out in the night sky the only noise was the chirping crickets. Gabriella had settled into Troy's side, where she fit perfectly, and draped an arm across his stomach. She had actually begun to drift off and her eyelids had shut when she felt the body beside her begin to move.

She whimpered and quickly grabbed onto his shirt where her hand was laying.

"Brie, hun, I have to go. It's almost nine and my parents want me home."

"No, stay here." She whispered sleepily, a trace of sadness in her voice as she gripped his shirt and held him tightly.

"Brie, I'm sorry but it's late and I have to go."

"No Troy! Don't leave." She said suddenly, tightening her hold on his shirt.

"Brie…what's wrong?"

She didn't respond but he looked down to see small tears forming in her eyes as she shifted her body closer to his.

"Oh Brie, listen sweet girl, you have to tell me what's going on."

Gabriella sat up, supporting herself on her arm and Troy saw that the tears in her eyes were now coming down her cheeks.

"I don't want you to go." She cried, wiping her damp cheeks with the back of her hand, which had surprisingly let go of Troy, although only for a second.

Troy's face broke into a horribly worried expression as he then sat himself up and looked at her sadly.

"Gabby, why are you so upset? This isn't like you at all."

"I just don't want you to go!"

"Oh Gabs." He pulled her into his chest and leaned back to hold her as she cried.

"Why is this making you cry? For the past few days you've been like this and I need you to tell me why."

The silence of her heavy breathing made him think she wasn't going to answer, but then he heard her sadly say, "I don't want you to leave me."

"Brie, I'm just going home. I'm gonna see you tomorrow morning."

As a few tears wet his shirt he softly ran his fingers down her long curls.

"Gabs?" She didn't say anything and he moved her to see her face. "Gabs, listen, please, please tell me what is going on."

Gabrielle just watched him as she cried and he could feel his heart break at the sight.

"Brie please, talk to me!"

"I just…" she let out a hiccupped sob, "I just don't want you to leave me. I need you."

"I know, but you're getting so upset about this. I mean, I'm just going home and it has you in tears."

"I don't want you to leave me!"

And suddenly it clicked. All the pieces came together and he realized why his leaving had her hysterical, why she had to hold onto him and stay by his side. She was afraid of losing him, like she lost Lauren.

"Gabby come here." He opened his arms and she fell into them. Troy rubbed her back as she cried and kissed the top of her head before speaking, "I'm here, okay? I'm not going anywhere. Whether we're at school, or at home or wherever, I'm always here."

"I don't want to lose you." She mumbled into his chest.

"Gabriella you have to listen to me," he put her hand on his heart and placed his on top. "I love you, and even if something were to happen I will always be here. Okay?"

Troy felt her nod, then sniffle back some tears.

"You can't live being so afraid like this. It's not right and you don't have to worry."

He sighed and rubbed the hand he placed on top of his heart.

"I will _always_ be here."

His words were a promise, a promise that he kept forever just as he had said he would that night on the hammock.

Fin.

A/N: Okay wow, my first story is over. sniff, sniff First, I have to thank all my readers; you guys completely surprised me with your amazing reviews and kindness. Thank you so much! I've been reading fanfiction for awhile and a few months ago I decided I was ready to submit some. I had no idea of what an incredible response I would get. Writing this was an adventure and I learned so much. So thank you all a million times over for making this story so special to me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I love you all! Also, I've got some other work you can check out and hopefully (fingers crossed!) I should be starting this new project that's been in my mind for awhile.

I hope you all liked the ending, it's actually my longest chapter ever and I really love it, so I really hope you all do too.

I love you all hugs

Sparks

Xoxoxo

PS. A shout-out to Kathy because I said I would use her name but I couldn't find a way how! I'm sorry :( And a shout-out to Katie, you know how special you are and I love you! I found you through this story and you have become my best friend here ♥


End file.
